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Should is have a QT?


codacodi

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Hi all, my 14 g is almost ready for fish. In the excitement, I forgot to setup a QT. I only ever plan to keep 3 fish. Does it make sense to setup a QT and maintain it as well? What doother folks do?

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InAtTheDeepEnd

QT is a pretty intrinsic part of keeping any livestock imho, I'd always recommend it personally 🙂 - thats talking as someone who has NOT qt'd, in both fresh and saltwater, and massively regretted it ......

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Should you? Yes. But to be honest I’ve never set one up.  I get livestock from reputable places that I trust who have intake dates on their fish.  I am picky with my livestock and closely monitor them in my tank once introduced.  I’ve had fish not make it and removed them immediately.  I’m sure this will get criticized as reckless but it’s worked out okay for me.  Common sense and a close eye on your tank will go a long way.  Good luck.  

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With a small tank and planned small fish load, I probably wouldn't, but it is always safer and advisable to do so.  You can reduce risk by buying from reputable dealers, from dealers who have quarantine policies, only fish you can see and see eat in person, or prophylactic dips like SafetyStop, but the "right" way to do it to be as sure as possible is a QT tank with a regimen of medications administered even without signs of disease shown.  There are certain kinds of fish and other creatures that tolerate this less, but a lot will do well, and your QT tank can be setup the day you need it if you have the equipment, water, and some media ready to go to seed it - you don't actually want to maintain it as shutting it down and cleaning it out between QT treatments helps keep it disease free, otherwise you need long fallow periods (think 3 months) between use of it to make sure most parasites would have died off.

 

In any case, HumbleFish's website is one of the best resources for QT, diseases, medications, and treatment, so it's a good place to start: https://humble.fish/quarantine/

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less than bread

In a small tank, probably not worth it. But really depends on what you plan on keeping. I mean, I love all fish, but let’s be honest, some are more valuable than others. Are you planning on dropping in some rare beauties worth hundreds a piece? Or are we talking a couple standard clowns that are a dime a dozen? With many standard fish species, the cost of setting up and maintaining a QT is more than simply replacing the fish many times over.

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The correct answer is yes. Especially if adding to an established tank. Having said that I feel if you are new and the tank is new it is less of a risk to add fish to the display tank without QTing. As stated above when ever possible buy fish locally and you can observe them up close, see that they are eating and what they eat.

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Thanks for the great replies guys/gals!! I think I am going to go chat with my LFS, they are a bunch of awesome folks. Let me see if they will help me with getting away without setting up a QT.  I plan on keeping simple easy to keep fish that are not going to break bank. This is my first tank and stability and simplicity are my goals.

 

p.s. will link this in my journal in case someone wants to continue the discussion in this thread down the line.

 

Thanks again!

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On 1/2/2022 at 12:31 PM, codacodi said:

Hi all, my 14 g is almost ready for fish. In the excitement, I forgot to setup a QT. I only ever plan to keep 3 fish. Does it make sense to setup a QT and maintain it as well? What doother folks do?

I think you have to be careful consuming hobby information about QT and disease.....lots of half-truth and hyperbole mixed in with a little good information.  

 

The how-to info in the hobby on using medications, if you do end up having to treat something, is much higher quality.

 

As @Poodges mentioned, the best way to proceed is to buy healthy fish, locally – preempt the whole problem.  This implies being pretty choosey about what you decide to bring home....and even being choosey about the store where you buy.  

 

It is not a foolproof strategy....but then QT also isn't foolproof.   The usually guidance for QT will make healthy fish sick just about as often as it can make sick fish healthy....not a great plan...about as successful as doing nothing, statistically speaking.

 

If you do have doubts about the quality of your livestock (eg you are ordering online) then you're actually in a bad position.  Some time in an observational QT tank could be helpful if you had the space for a good fish-only tank.  (Most QT guides tell you to use a tiny, poorly equipped tank....not good for your fish at all.)

 

In your shoes, I'd acquire a micron filter and a UV filter for the reef and use them both for the whole period that you're adding fish.  (One UV bulbs typically lasts from 6-12 months.)

 

Something else to realize is that adding fish to the tank first is not the best way to do it.....everything else first (but slowly, gradually) is a better choice, allowing the tank to attain a measure of stability before the fish go in.   Start with the smallest and work your way up to the biggest.  In general that means CUC first, fish last.  If you're comfortable with corals, they can be among the first added as well.  Ideally, add no more than 1-2 critters at once along the way....this is more important for the bigger critters....they will give off more ammonia than smaller critters.

 

How this makes sense – tell me if not!  🙂 

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